Giving teens a shot

While Mass. child immunization rates are strong, getting older kids vaccinated is a struggle

September 19, 2011|By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

Like many parents of teenage girls, Joyce Alla and her husband decided to delay getting their daughter Cassidy vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV) - when she reached the recommended age of 11 - until last month, well past her 14th birthday.

“I was surprised that her pediatrician never really pushed it that much,’’ recalled Alla, a 48-year-old recruiter from Marblehead. “So I checked with my gynecologist and other doctors and across the board it was recommended’’ for protection against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.

Soon after getting the shot, marketed as Gardasil or Cervarix, however, Cassidy fainted and shook like she was having a small seizure - both temporary side effects that occur in a small percentage of those vaccinated. “She was out for 30 to 40 seconds and felt very sick to her stomach for about an hour or so afterward,’’ said Alla. Although Cassidy is fine now, her mother said her daughter is reluctant to get the final two doses. “It’s an experience she does not want to repeat.’’

While Massachusetts enjoys childhood vaccination rates that are among the highest in the nation, there’s room for improvement in teen immunizations. Only two-thirds of girls ages 13-to-17 have received one dose of the HPV vaccine, and just 47 percent have received all three doses that are required to give them full protection from the virus known to infect most unvaccinated, sexually active women.

Those already low rates could dip further if parents get scared off after watching a “Today’’ show interview last week with Republican presidential contender Michele Bachmann, who said she met a mother who told her “that her little daughter took that vaccine, that injection, and she suffered from mental retardation thereafter.’’ The American Academy of Pediatrics said there was “no scientific validity’’ to the statement linking the HPV vaccine to brain damage.

Other vaccines have better track records: 83 percent of teens have been immunized against meningococcal meningitis, and 75 percent have received their second chicken pox booster, according to 2010 data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s not bad, but it’s still lower than state vaccination rates for infants and toddlers, which hover above 90 percent.

“As teenagers grow up, they don’t see their primary care doctors as frequently,’’ explained Kevin Cranston, director of the state Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Infectious Disease. And guidelines change almost every year, he said. Thus, teens who skip well visits can easily fall behind on the latest recommendations.